Zaï Zaï Zaï Zaï, a Road Movie by Fabcaro

Fabcaro serves up an absurdist tale drawn with a light, minimalist line.

— Le Figaro

A comic-book author is about to pay for his groceries when he realises he’s forgotten his supermarket loyalty card, a heinous misdemeanour. The checkout girl immediately alerts security, but the writer makes his escape. The police are called and a relentless manhunt commences, as the fugitive hitchhikes across the region, torn between remorse and existential ruminations. The media get hold of the affair and soon the whole country is in a flutter, divided between compassion and fascistic outrage. After all, might this virtually unknown comic-book author truly be a danger to society?

This bestselling graphic novel gets its title from the chorus of a jaunty Joe Dassin number. And indeed our hero will be condemned to sing this very song, karaoke style, as an alternative to a custodial sentence.

With more than a nod to the British nonsense tradition, Fabcaro’s burlesque, and at times surreal, ‘road movie’ is a caustic critique of societal archetypes (family, media, police, neighbours) and their improbable, or often all too predictable, attitudes and reactions.

Zaï zaï zaï zaï has been a massive hit in France, selling over 100,000 copies and scooping up an array of prizes. A film adaptation is currently in production.

Born in 1973, Fabcaro has spent the past ten years exploring and experimenting with the humorous comic-book form, often with an autobiographical and absurdist take. He has also contributed to numerous magazines, such as Tchô!, L’écho des savanes, Psikopat, ZOO, CQFD, Kramix, Jade and Fluide Glacial.

Each page is stuffed with zany ideas, as the author provides a multiplicity of viewpoints on the affair, by way of a corrosive humour that is not quite as light-hearted as it appears.